64: Chapter 64 Seed of Blessed Land

Yun Ming floated in the water, not in a hurry to ascend.

He had searched the bottom of the pool thoroughly just now but found nothing. However, he felt that since that Dao Lord had passed away here, he wouldn't hide the key to refining the Blessed Land too deep. Since it wasn't at the bottom—

Then it might be on the walls of the pool.

He circulated his remaining Spiritual Qi, his body slowly floating upward, while his Divine Sense spread out like mercury, scanning the walls inch by inch.

Ten zhang.

Fifty zhang.

One hundred zhang.

Every inch of the rock wall scanned by his Divine Sense was real and solid, rough and cold, covered in water erosion marks. Yun Ming remained calm and unhurried, continuing to float upward, his Divine Sense like a net, meticulously screening.

One hundred and fifty zhang.

Two hundred zhang.

Suddenly—

His Divine Sense probed out, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea.

That part of the wall was clearly right in front of him, but the moment his Divine Sense touched it, it felt as if it had been swallowed by something, empty and traceless.

Yun Ming's heart skipped a beat.

He steadied himself and swam toward that spot. His protective spiritual light illuminated the wall—it looked no different from anywhere else, the same grayish-black rock with faint moss.

He reached out and tentatively pressed against it.

His palm passed straight through.

No resistance, no coldness, as if the rock were merely a phantom. Yun Ming took a deep breath and plunged forward—

His vision blurred.

He found himself inside a narrow passage.

Behind him was that layer of ripple-like phantom wall, isolating the pressure and water of the thousand-foot deep pool. The passage was cramped, only wide enough for one person to pass sideways. The walls on both sides were rough rock; there was no water, and the air was dry and cold.

Yun Ming steadied his mind and walked forward.

The passage was deep, its end invisible. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the narrow space. He walked slowly, his Divine Sense probing ahead, but it never reached the end.

One hundred steps.

Two hundred steps.

Three hundred steps.

When he had walked about five hundred steps, a faint light finally appeared ahead.

Yun Ming quickened his pace.

At the end of the passage, it suddenly opened up.

It was a secret room.

It wasn't large, estimated to be less than ten zhang square. The four walls were smooth as mirrors, with a faint jade luster. There were no lamps, yet light was everywhere, its source unknown.

And in the center of the secret room—

Yun Ming's pupils constricted.

A pile of Spirit Stones.

A pile of Spirit Stones like a small mountain sat there casually. Not Low Grade, not Medium Grade, not even High Grade—they were Top-Grade Spirit Stones. Each one shimmered with a lustrous treasure light, and the Spiritual Qi was so dense it almost overflowed.

Such Spirit Stones were piled into a small mountain. At a rough glance, there were at least a thousand.

Yun Ming's breath hitched slightly.

But he didn't lose his composure. His gaze swept across the secret room and soon landed on three jade boxes beside the pile of Spirit Stones.

The jade boxes were pure white and faintly transparent, allowing a glimpse of the indistinct objects inside. The box surfaces were carved with complex patterns—those were sealing Formations. However, being ancient, the Formations had weakened significantly, with only a faint layer of spiritual light remaining.

Yun Ming stepped forward and opened the first jade box.

Five Medicinal Pills lay quietly in the box, the size of longans, as clear as amber throughout, with faint golden light flowing inside. A crisp medicinal fragrance wafted out; with just one breath, he felt refreshed.

He recognized this pill.

five elements gold-condensing jade liquid.

A Medicinal Pill for breaking through to the Golden Core. If an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator could obtain one of these when forming their core, the success rate could increase by thirty percent.

Yun Ming's fingertips trembled slightly as he carefully closed the jade box and put it into his naxu ring.

He opened the second jade box.

A single Medicinal Pill, the size of a pigeon egg, blood-red throughout, with nine faint golden lines on the surface winding like dragons. The lines flowed faintly, as if they were alive.

nine-turn jade infant pill.

Yun Ming sucked in a breath of cold air.

Above the Golden Core is the Nascent Soul. The difficulty of reaching the Nascent Soul is as hard as ascending to heaven. In the Great Qian's billions of commoners, there are hundreds or thousands of Golden Core True Persons, but the Nascent Soul True Lord is only the Sunset Glow Sect's Sect Master. And this nine-turn jade infant pill is a supreme treasure for breaking through to the Nascent Soul; it is said that a single pill can increase the Breakthrough chance for a Golden Core Great Perfection Cultivator by fifty percent.

If such a divine object were to fall into the outside world, it would be enough to make countless Golden Core True Persons kill each other in a frenzy.

He took a deep breath and solemnly put it away.

The third jade box.

Yun Ming reached out, then paused.

The aura emanating from that jade box was completely different from the first two. Through the walls of the box, he faintly sensed—something inside was moving.

It wasn't the spiritual flow of a Medicinal Pill.

It was a living thing.

It was breathing slowly.

Yun Ming's Divine Sense quietly probed out. The moment it touched the jade box, an indescribable sense of pressure rushed at him. The object in the box seemed to sense his prying; it trembled slightly, and immediately a vast aura surged like a tide—

In just an instant, Yun Ming felt his Divine Soul tremble, as if he were an ant looking up at a mountain.

He abruptly withdrew his Divine Sense, took a step back, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He absolutely could not suppress this thing.

If he opened it rashly, he feared he would be crushed by that aura in an instant.

Yun Ming stared at the jade box, his throat bobbing. He didn't know what was inside, but he knew it wasn't something he could touch now.

He took out a separate Storage Pouch—it was a spare he had kept empty—carefully placed the third jade box inside, and applied three consecutive Seals to the opening before tucking it into his robes.

He would deal with it later.

Once his cultivation was sufficient, he would see exactly what was in this box.

He turned around, his gaze falling on the deepest part of the secret room.

There, an object hung quietly.

It was shaped like a tree leaf, the size of a palm, emerald green and dripping with vitality, with clear veins and a faint flowing luster. It floated there, slowly rotating; with every rotation, a faint ripple spread out to the surroundings, merging into the four walls of the secret room.

blessed land seed.

A realization dawned in Yun Ming's heart.

He reached out, and the moment his fingertips touched the leaf—

Countless pieces of information flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide.

The method of refining.

How to integrate his Divine Sense imprint into it, how to nourish it with Spiritual Qi to make it take root, how to incorporate the Blessed Land into his body, and how to become the new master of this world.

He understood everything.

But he also understood one thing at the same time—

Refining the Blessed Land required cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage.

At least the Nascent Soul Stage.

He was currently only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. No matter how thick his Foundation or how much spiritual liquid he had, there was still the chasm of the Golden Core between him and the Nascent Soul.

Three years.

He only had three years.

Within three years, it was impossible for him to Breakthrough from Foundation Establishment to the Nascent Soul.

Yun Ming stood dazed for a long time, his fingertips still touching the leaf, feeling the pulse coming from within. That pulse was in sync with this world, with this secret room beneath his feet, this deep pool, this waterfall, that forest he couldn't walk out of, and even the cracking sky—

They were all one.

Yun Ming gently withdrew his hand.

"What is meant to be will be; what is not meant to be cannot be forced."

Yun Ming no longer hesitated, turning to collect everything in the secret room into his naxu ring. Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, jade boxes—he didn't leave behind a single thing he could take.

Finally, he looked back at the blessed land seed hanging in mid-air.

It still rotated slowly, still emitted faint ripples, and still waited for the fated person who would never come.

He turned and stepped into the passage he had come from.

Passing through the phantom wall, he re-entered the deep pool.

The process of ascending was much easier than diving. While rising, he silently tallied the gains of this trip—over a thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones, five five elements gold-condensing jade liquids, one nine-turn jade infant pill, a jade box containing an unknown living thing, and a ring full of Spirit Soil.

"A bountiful harvest indeed."

Bursting out of the water, he climbed onto the green stone on the shore and lay down, letting the sunlight wash over him.

The waterfall still gurgled.

The rainbow was still faint.

The chirping of birds still came from near and far.

Everything was as before.

Yun Ming closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

There were still three years,

In those three years, he had to increase his cultivation as much as possible.